Finishing machine



April 7, 1964 w. c. BURT 3,127,708

FINISHING MACHINE Filed 061;. 11, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

WILLIAM G. BURIT BY @0414, 1 l 4 ATTONEYS April 7, 1964 w. c. BURT 3,127,708

FINISHING MACHINE Filed Oct. 11, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

WILLIAM C. BURT ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,127,708 FENISHENG MACHINE William C. Burt, Oiean, N.Y., assignor to Clair Manufacturing (30., Inc, Olean, N.Y. Filed fi st. 11, 1962, Ser. No. 229,951 4 Claims. (ill. 51-84) This invention relates to improvements in surface finishing machines of the type variously known as buffing, polishing, glazing machines, or the like. The machine of L e present invention is particularly adapted to surfaceprocess work pieces involving intricate geometries, i.e., in connection with double-Heeling and edging proccases on flatware; and otherwise surface-finishing hand tools, industrial jewelry, decorative hardware, and the like. Further, by way of example, the invention relates to machines of the type disclosed in prior US Patent 2,458,708.

One object of the present invention is to provide in a machine as aforesaid, in combination, an adjustably staggered double roll arrangement and an improved roll pressure regulating means; thus providing a machine of improved functional flexibilities which at all times submits the workpieces to either uniform contact pressures or precisely prescribed varying pressures, as occasion may require.

Another object is to provide in a machine as aforesaid, an improved double roll positional relationship adjustment system.

Another object is to provide an improved quick change roll mounting system in machines as aforesaid.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the specification hereinafter and the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a machine embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a right hand elevational view of the machine of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3, 4 are enlarged scale sectional views taken on lines TIL-III and lVIV, respectively, of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a view corresponding to FIG. 4 but showing the machine rolls adjusted to non-staggered relation and operating on a flat workpiece.

The drawings herewith illustrate the invention as being employed in a machine of the general type shown in Patent No. 2,458,708. As illustrated in FIGS. 1-2 for example, the basic machine includes a base or frame supported by legs 12 to a convenient height; frame 10 in turn supporting the oscillating workpiece carriage and the polishing or glazing rolls, and other mechanisms for driving and controlling the carriage and the rolls and will be explained hereinafter.

The rolls are indicated at 1416; the roll 14 being mounted above the roll 16. The rolls 1416 will of course be formed of any suitable material treated in any desired manner according to the character of the work to be done, and the roll 14 is carried upon a shaft 18 while the roll 16 is carried upon a shaft 19. The shaft 18 is journalled at its opposite ends upon rocker arms 2t 22 which extend from opposite ends of a common rocker shaft 24; the shaft 24 being in turn rotatably supported by means of pedestals 26-28 which extend vertically from opposite ends of the base plate 10. A second rocker shaft 31 is similarly journalled upon the pedestals 26-2S so as to extend parallel to the rocker shaft 24 3,127,703 Patented Apr. 7, 1964 and therebelow, but at a slight distance ahead of the roll shaft 18. Rocker arms 32-34 extend upwardly from the rocker shaft 30 in parallel relation and carry at their outer ends the lower roll shaft 19 in journalled relation thereon, as will be explained more fully hereinafter. The rocker shaft 24 is fitted with rearwardly extending crank arm 41). The arm 46 carries a screw block 44. A pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder member 48 is fixed at its lower end to the base 11] and slidably mounts therein a piston which is fixed upon the lower end of a screw 52 which extends upwardly through the open end of the cylinder 48 and thence through the nut 44 which it engages in screw-thread relation. At its upper end the screw 52 carries a hand wheel 56. The piston cylinder unit 43 is operable to force the rocker cranks apart so as to bring the rolls 14 16 together for polishing workpieces inserted therebetween. Also, it will be appreciated that the hand wheel 56 is manually adjustable for purposes of regulating the tension and distance between the rolls under operating conditions, so as to suit the machine to different classes of work.

As shown in FIG. 2, the shaft 30 carries a crank arm 58 to which is connected a hand screw 59 for angularly adjusting the attitude of the arms 3234 which carry the lower roll 16. Thus, adjustments of the hand screw 59 will cause the roll 16 to swing through an arc as indicated in FIG. 5. When the arms 32-34 are in precisely vertical attitudes the roll 16 is thereby disposed parallel to but somewhat ahead of the position of the roll 14, whereby as shown in better detail in FIG. 4, the machine is adapted to process curved workpieces with improved facility. On the other hand, when the hand screw 5'9 is adjusted so as to dispose the roll 16 rearwardly and vertically in line with the top roll 14, the machine will be thereby set to process fiat workpieces as shown for example in FIG. 5. In some cases it will be desirable to set the lower roll 16 somewhere between the positions thereof shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, and in some cases even behind the position of roll 16 which is shown in FIG. 5; thus increasing the flexibility of the machine to suit it to better process a larger variety of workpiece geometries. Separate electric motors as indicated at 60, 62 are coupled to the upper and lower rolls 14, 16, respectively, as by means of flexible belts or the like as indicated at 64, 66.

The work mounting carriage portion of the machine is illustrated herein to comprise a table which is mounted upon the base plate 10 by means of slideways 72 so that the table 70 is reciprocable horizontally in directions transverse to the rolls 1416. A hydraulic pistoncylinder unit 75 is mounted under the base plate 10, and the piston rod 76 thereof extends in the direction of platform travel and into connection with a bracket 77 carried by the platform '71 Thus, hydraulic actuation of the piston-cylinder unit 75 will cause the platform 70 to reciprocate toward and away from the rolls 14-16.

A second platform 80 is reeiprocable relative to the platform 71) in directions axially of the rolls 14-16 independently of reciprocation of the platform 70. hydraulic piston-cylinder unit is mounted upon the platform 70, and the piston rod thereof is connected to the platform 80, whereby hydraulic actuation of the piston The platform 80 includes uprights mounting in journalled relation thereon a rocker shaft 92 which extends parallel to the rolls 14- 16 and, as in the manner of Patent No. 2,458,708, carries at its opposite ends brackets 123 which in turn receive in slide-fitting relation therein the opposite ends of a work carrying plate 124. Thus, a gang of spoons or forks or the like may be clamped upon the plate 124, as by means of a detachable holder bar 126, so that the workpieces are mounted to extend therefrom toward the buffing rolls.

The operating mechanisms therefor are so constructed and arranged as to cause the workpiece holding members to swing between the solid line and the broken line positions thereof incidental to which the workpieces are caused to oscillate between the solid line and the broken line positions thereof as shown in FIG. 4. Thus, it will be understood that the curved or bowl portions of the workpieces will be thereby caused to pass in and out between the rolls so as to provide progressive polishing or glazing of the curved bowl portions from the tip ends to the heel ends thereof; and that the unique movements of the work holder permits the curved surfaces of the workpieces to move in intimate polishing contact with the rolls throughout all phases of displacement.

Another feature of the machine of the invention is in respect to the means for mounting the roll shafts in their bearings. As shown best in FIGS. 2 and 3, the pedestals mounting the roll bearings are formed with arcuate stirrup portions (item 130, FIG. 3) into which the bearings as indicated at 132 are cradled. A hold-down strap as indicated at 134 passes over and around the bearing to maintain it in cradled relation on the pedestal. Thus, as shown in FIG. 3 the strap is anchored at one end to a stationary pin 135 and is cleviced at its other end and carries a pin 136 which also books into a pull-bar 138. The bar 138 pivotally connects to a fulcrum bar 140, by means of a pivot pin 142, and the fulcrum bar 140 is positionally adjusted by means of a hand screw 144 which bears against a stationary abutment 146 carried by the pedestal. Thus, tightening of the screw 144 will draw the strap 134 snugly against the bearing 132 so as to hold it firmly in operative position. A lock nut 148 is provided to maintain the screw 144 in any adjusted position. A particular feature of this arrangement is that it is quickly releasable by simply backing off the screw 144 and disengaging the lock bar 138 from the pin 136. This greatly facilitates operations involving changing of the rolls. Also, this arrangement provides an important advance and advantage in the art in that only thin metal straps are employed to hold the roll bearings in place, and this permits the use of opposed rolls of much smaller diameters than if conventional bearing blocks or the like are employed. In consequence, the same machine may be fitted either with large diameter of small diameter rolls according to the nature of the work to be performed, and wherever the workpieces embody sharply curved surfaces, correspondingly small diameter rolls may be satisfactorily employed because the thin bearing straps permit such rolls to be brought close enough together to perform their intended functions.

Thus it will be appreciated that by virtue of the present invention the bottom roll spindle may be hand cranked through a substantially horizontal are between positions somewhat ahead of and somewhat behind the vertical plane of the top roll spindle; thereby suiting the machine to a large variety of workpieces geometries. The compressed air controlled floating action of the rolls assures any desired predetermined uniform contact pressure throughout the various curvatures of the workpiece.

It will, of course, be appreciated that whereas only one specific form of the invention has been illustrated and described in detail hereinabove, it will be understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a workpiece surface finishing machine, in combination,

a frame,

a first rocker shaft journaled in said frame,

a pair of rocker arms fixed to said first rocker shaft and projecting generally horizontally and forwardly therefrom,

a first surface finishing roll journalled between the free ends of said rocker arms,

a second rocker shaft journalled in said frame below and forwardly of the first rocker shaft,

a second pair of rocker arms, said second rocker arm being fixed to said second rocker shaft and projecting generally vertically therefrom and terminating below said first rocker shaft,

a second surface finishing roll journalled between the free ends of said second pair of rocker arms,

means for driving said first and second surface finishing rolls,

means for rotatably adjusting said second rocker shaft to shift said second surface finishing roll fore and aft relative to said first surface finishing roll,

means for rotatably adjusting said first rocker shaft to shift said first surface finishing roll toward and away from said second surface finishing roll and thereby vary the gap therebetween,

and means for projecting workpieces into the gap between said surface finishing rolls.

2. In a workpiece surface finishing machine, in combination,

a frame,

a pair of finishing roll assemblies, each including a pair of rocker arms pivotally mounted adjacent one end thereof on said frame and a surface finishing roll journalled between the free ends of said rocker arms whereby each surface finishing roll is movable in an arcuate path in response to pivotal motion of its associated rocker arms, said pairs of rocker arms being mounted on said frame to position said surface finishing rolls in parallel relation presenting a workpiece-receiving nip therebetween and with said arcuate paths intersecting.

work holding means positioned adjacent said surface finishing rolls for presenting workpieces to said nip along a path generally parallel to the motion path of the surface finishing roll associated with one of said pair of rocker arms,

means for adjustably pivoting said one pair of rocker arms to shift the associated surface finishing roll, relative to the other surface finishing roll, generally along the path of workpiece presentation,

means for adjustably pivoting the other pair of rocker arms to vary the spacing between said rolls at the p,

and means for driving said surface finishing rolls.

3. In a machine as defined in claim 1 wherein the free ends of said rocker arms are formed as cradles, a roll-journalling bearing received in each cradle, and strap means carried by each rocker arm passing over each associated bearing and retaining the same in its cradle, said strap means including a releasable fastener.

4. In a workpiece surface finishing machine,

a frame,

a pair of rocker arm assemblies pivotally mounted on said frame about vertically spaced horizontal axes, each rocker arm assembly including a pair of horizontally spaced rocker arms pivoted, as aforesaid, at one end thereof to the frame and presenting free end portions remote from the pivot axis in each case, the free end portion of each rocker arm being formed as a semicircular cradle,

an elongate surface finishing roll for each rocker arm assembly,

a bearing member seated in each cradle with one pair of such bearing member's rotatably supporting one roll and the other pair of bearing members rotatably supporting the other roll,

flexible strap means carried by each rocker arm and wrapped partially around an associated bearing member to retain the same seated in its associated cradle, each flexible strap means including a releasable fastener,

said rocker arm assemblies being disposed to permit said rolls to be moved toward and away from each other in response to pivoted motions of the rocker arm assemblies and said cradles being positioned so that the cradles of each rocker arm assembly are concave toward the cradles of the other rocker arm assembly,

and means for pivotally adjusting said rocker arm assemblies.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Seiffert Dec. 9, Boardman July 13, Woodall Nov. 3, Johnson et a1. Jan. 11, Bernard Apr. 15, Burt Sept. 30, Meile Mar. 20, 

1. IN A WORKPIECE SURFACE FINISHING MACHINE, IN COMBINATION, A FRAME, A FIRST ROCKER SHAFT JOURNALED IN SAID FRAME, A PAIR OF ROCKER ARMS FIXED TO SAID FIRST ROCKER SHAFT AND PROJECTING GENERALLY HORIZONTALLY AND FORWARDLY THEREFROM, A FIRST SURFACE FINISHING ROLL JOURNALLED BETWEEN THE FREE ENDS OF SAID ROCKER ARMS, A SECOND ROCKER SHAFT JOURNALLED IN SAID FRAME BELOW AND FORWARDLY OF THE FIRST ROCKER SHAFT, A SECOND PAIR OF ROCKER ARMS, SAID SECOND ROCKER ARM BEING FIXED TO SAID SECOND ROCKER SHAFT AND PROJECTING GENERALLY VERTICALLY THEREFROM AND TERMINATING BELOW SAID FIRST ROCKER SHAFT, A SECOND SURFACE FINISHING ROLL JOURNALLED BETWEEN THE FREE ENDS OF SAID SECOND PAIR OF ROCKER ARMS, MEANS FOR DRIVING SAID FIRST AND SECOND SURFACE FINISHING ROLL, MEANS FOR ROTATABLY ADJUSTING SAID SECOND ROCKER SHAFT TO SHIFT SAID SECOND SURFACE FINISHING ROLL FORE AND AFT RELATIVE TO SAID FIRST SURFACE FINISHING ROLL, MEANS FOR ROTATABLY ADJUSTING SAID FIRST ROCKER SHAFT TO SHIFT SAID FIRST SURFACE FINISHING ROLL TOWARD AND AWAY FROM SAID SECOND SURFACE FINISHING ROLL AND THEREBY VARY THE GAP THEREBETWEEN, AND MEANS FOR PROJECTING WORKPIECES INTO THE GAP BETWEEN SAID SURFACE FINISHING ROLLS. 